Consultation has begun on a review of conservation area status for the famous Settle/Carlisle Railway.
The designation to help preserve and enhance the character or appearance of an area of special architectural interest was first given to the line in 1991.
Stuart Parsons, the YDNPA’s Member Champion for Conservation of Cultural Heritage, said: “Every conservation area has a distinctive character that has been shaped over time by its natural and man-made surroundings.
“This appraisal is an opportunity to re-assess the railway line and to evaluate and record its special interest. It sets out how this most unusual conservation area has evolved and identifies the key elements of its character and quality, as well as defining what is positive and negative, and looking at ways it can be managed for the better in the future.”
Robert White, the Authority’s Senior Conservation Archaeologist, said: “We are now looking for comments and suggestions from the individuals and groups that live in the former railway cottages and who use the railway line and, of course, from other stakeholders such as Network Rail, who own much of it, and the voluntary groups who do so much to promote it.
“We want to hear how they think it can be best looked after so its character is there for future generations.”
The appraisal document can be viewed on the YDNPA website at www.yorkshiredales.org.uk/careview-settlecarlislerailway-full.pdf along with an on-line questionnaire.
Background
The Settle and Carlisle Railway stretches for 72 miles and was designated a conservation area as a result of a collaborative effort between the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and three district councils. It is believed to be the longest conservation area in the country. It was the last main line railway to be built in the nineteenth century and the last in Britain to be mainly built by manual labour. The station buildings, railway workers’ cottages and other structures were all architect-designed in the Midland Railway Company’s house style and provide a distinct contrast to the vernacular architecture of the Yorkshire Dales.
The difficult terrain the line runs through required major engineering work to provide a high-speed line – cuttings, embankments, bridges, tunnels, and viaducts, as well as the diversion of streams to cross both over and under the line.
The most famous structure is the iconic, 24-arched Ribblehead viaduct, a Grade II* Listed building mainly built of locally-quarried stone that is surrounded by the remains of a large construction camp – a scheduled monument.
Although there are very few contemporary photographs, contemporary documents such as the 1871 census and press reports provide an indication of life constructing the railway.
The Ribblehead camp was the largest settlement on the line and contained most of the civic, commercial and social facilities such as the hospital, post office, public library, mission house, day and Sunday schools, shops and public houses.
The area also contained the Midland Railway Company's offices, yards, stables, and storeroom. The occupations recorded in the census reflect the varied makeup of the settlement and, in addition to railway labourers and their families, included professionals such as the schoolmistress and missionary, commercial traders such as butchers, bakers, grocers and innkeepers, as well as clerks, carpenters, sawyers, blacksmiths and store men who were employed by the railway company.
Newspaper articles tell of the drinking, fights and accidental deaths that accompanied the construction of the railway.
The camp is one of the best preserved and probably the most accessible construction camp in the country and is scheduled as an ancient monument. It was the first construction camp in the UK to be archaeologically surveyed. More recently another camp on the line at Risehill Tunnel has featured on the Channel 4 Time Team programme.
